The 25 Best Mac Games Today

The Mac's never built its reputation on being a gaming machine, but the fact is that it's actually home to a lot of awesome games. From cutting-edge shooters to introspective adventures to retro platformers, there's a fantastic selection of games available from sources like Steam and the Mac App Store, so we've put together our list of the top 25 games that you'd want to fire up and play today. (And if you're looking to save some dough, don't miss our list of the 25 Best Mac App Store Games Under $10.)

Divinity: Original Sin ($39.99) is basically a classic RPG dressed up in modern-day trappings, and we mean that in the best way possible. Strategic, turn-based combat melds with open-ended gameplay and just the right amount of humor to create a deep, epic quest. It's one of the best role-playing games we've seen on Mac in a long time, as well as one of the most challenging.

The Banner Saga ($24.99) puts you in charge of a caravan of refugees amidst armageddon, traveling between towns in search of shelter and resources. While the narrative and character exchanges are fascinating and on par with the brilliant visuals and music, they’re also matched by engaging tactical role-playing combat. All told, The Banner Saga is engrossing and captivating.

A knight? With a shovel? Yeah, it's goofy, but that's what makes this game so endearing. Packed with old-school Nintendo-era charm, Shovel Knight ($14.99) looks and plays like a lost platformer from the days of yore. Each well-designed level offers a diverse set of challenges, plus a unique boss at the end, but you're able to fight back with an addictive downward-thrust technique and a neat assortment of sub-weapons.

Rebooted and in perhaps its finest form to date, Tomb Raider ($19.99) delivers an expansive and flashy adventure in which the young Lara Croft learns very quickly what it takes to survive while shipwrecked on an island of savages. Exploring the breathtaking island spotlights the game’s biggest strengths, although the balance between stealth mechanics and violent action is also compelling.

Disarmingly quiet and contemplative, Gone Home ($19.99) finds you in the role of a college kid returning to her family’s estate — only to find that they’re missing. To discover their whereabouts, you’ll wander from room to room, interacting with objects to piece together the heartbreaking story and learn about these unseen characters. Smart writing and incredible detail give it real weight.

It might’ve hit Mac a little late, but the delay hasn’t soured the immense appeal of Rayman Origins ($19.99), a love letter to classic side-scrollers done up with plenty of modern pizzaz. It’s disarmingly presented, thanks to hand-drawn animations and a vibrant color palette, with each environment offering an array of exciting challenges to tackle either solo or with up to three local friends in tow.

BioShock Infinite ($39.99) maintains the series’ branding and many key elements — but rather than explore the ravaged underwater metropolis of Rapture, you’ll take to the sky and fight through the floating city of Columbia as an ex-Pinkerton agent in search of a mysterious, imprisoned woman. What unfolds is breathtaking and memorable, and it’s often nearly as brilliant as the original.

Fez ($9.99) looks like a throwback, 8-bit-era platformer, but there’s a surprising twist when you click a certain key/button: the entire world spins 90 degrees, changing the layout of the ledges and hazards in each glorious pixel world. That brain-bending mechanic adds a puzzling twist to the run-and-jump gameplay, plus the game is loaded with secrets to uncover — finding them all is hugely satisfying.

Ditching the 3D environments seen in most stealth-action games, Mark of the Ninja ($14.99) does its dirty work on a side-scrolling plane — and amazingly, doesn’t sacrifice depth or excitement. Crafted with impeccable precision, the gorgeously-presented adventure finds you sneaking through the shadows, evading traps, and stringing up enemies as a skilled shinobi, and the effect is masterful.

Borderlands 2 ($29.99) doesn't offer a dramatic upgrade over the (rather excellent) original, but that hasn't stopped us from coming back to it again and again. The raucous four-player co-op shooter is packed with frantic action, humor, and a wealth of firearms to accrue, plus it's been expanded out significantly with ample add-on content. It's the joyously violent gift that keeps on giving.

Hotline Miami ($9.99) looks like a lost NES game, but the 1980s never produced a game quite as perverse and brutal as this disturbing indie darling. Bursting into buildings full of well-armed gangsters, you'll clear each space with strategic ultraviolence, all the while taking in the surreal presentation and the lead's odd, hallucinatory visions. It's a twisted gem, and certainly one of a kind.

Visually mesmerizing, terrifyingly bleak, and amazingly atmospheric, Limbo ($9.99) is one of the best examples of how the 2D side-scroller can be utilized for much more than vibrant hop-and-drop quests. As a young boy traveling through a shadow world, you'll overcome platform challenges, puzzles, and alarmingly large foes, all in a haunting journey that's left open to interpretation.

Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition ($39.99) is not only arguably the greatest superhero game ever created, but also one of the best Mac games period for satisfying beat-'em-up action and glossy production values. As the Dark Knight, you'll explore Gotham using his myriad gadgets while pummeling thugs, but it's the uniquely designed villain encounters that truly impress.

Brilliantly conceived and executed, Valve's Portal ($9.99) is a puzzler like no other, challenging you to use a portal-firing gun to move from one opening through the next and escape devious test chambers. Not only are the puzzle mechanics wonderfully innovative, but Portal is a remarkably funny game to boot. Start with the compact original, but if you dig it, don't miss the also-excellent Portal 2.

Point-and-click adventure gaming hit a new modern peak in 2012 with the release of the five-part The Walking Dead: The Game ($24.99), which takes its cues from the popular comic and TV series of the same name, but features new characters trying to survive the zombie uprising. Brutally horrific decisions mark each entry, and your tough choices impact the course of the remaining narrative.

What started as a minimalist world-building sim has become an absolute sensation, as Minecraft ($26.95) boasts tens of millions of avid users across various platforms. While placing pixelated blocks is simple enough, the game is so flexible that dedicated players can build massive castles and ships (or anything else) and share them online. Just be sure to watch out for those exploding Creepers!

Fantasy role-playing can be about much more than cartoonish mages and hours of cinematics, as evidenced by the gritty and gripping The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition ($19.99). As beast-battling Geralt of Rivia, you'll be engrossed in dozens of hours of non-linear (and adult-oriented) narrative, allowing you to forge your own path in the absolutely stunning world.

PopCap made its name on remarkably addictive experiences, and Peggle ($9.99) may be its defining work. Taking cues from pachinko and pinball, this colorful and enrapturing casual favorite finds you launching balls into each maze of pegs, aiming to eliminate the orange ones before running out of shots. It's deceptively gripping, and sequel Peggle Nights only expands the obsession.

Like its notable predecessors, Sid Meier's Civilization V ($29.99) is something of a dream come true for strategy fans, but quite likely a nightmare for personal productivity. Civilization V is all about guiding your people through the ages on both micro and macro scales, making decisions and waging wars as time goes on, and the latest entry is the most accessible and beautifully designed to date.

Breaking the mold of the everyday shooter, BioShock ($19.99) delivers one of the most unique settings seen in a game: the underwater dystopian city of Rapture, where things have gone terribly awry with unhinged, genetically modified humans and armor-clad Big Daddy foes ready to pounce. It's as rich and thrilling a single-player shooter as any released on Mac or elsewhere.

For more than a decade, StarCraft was the gold standard for real-time strategy, so it was hardly a surprise when StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty ($29.99) debuted and became the new champ. Fantastic online play remains the key draw, with loads of customization and upgradeable units, plus the sci-fi settings look spectacular and the single-player campaign expands the narrative.

Even if you never played the original Deus Ex, a beloved and influential shooter from 2000, prequel Deus Ex: Human Revolution ($39.99) is pretty enthralling as a standalone action experience — one that blends shooting, stealth, and ample choice in a cyberpunk-themed future in which humans wield cybernetic enhancements. It's also a showcase game, meant to flex any high-end Mac rig thrown at it.

Gorgeous presentation and hypnotic storytelling make Bastion ($14.99) much more than a straight-up hack-and-slasher. The stunning hand-painted environments catch the eye in still images, but what makes the game so utterly captivating is its audio narration, which tells The Kid's tale as you live it. Stellar action and nicely customizable abilities also give it punch beyond the presentation.

Comments

The state of Mac games is pretty pathetic; while PC gaming is enjoying a renaissance, Mac gaming remains flat. Take a look at the offerings over at the Mac App Store -- dozens of look-alike simplistic games. Sure, there are a few gems, but they are rare.

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Yes, Borderlands 2 needs adding. I simply do not understand the draw behind Minecraft. You can't play with or against anyone. All you can do is share what you've built. Then what? There are no people in that world to interact with. You don't have neighbors. There is just…building stuff and then…nothing.

Actually in Minecraft people make servers where they can play along side other players in the same world. You can install mods that radially change the game into rpg's full of quests and what not. They even have a legend of zelda mod. I admit though, after the initial hype of being able to build wacky things alongside your friends I grew bored and stopped playing Minecraft altogether...